Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington Recreation and Visitor Services | L21AS00260

Opportunity Information: Apply for L21AS00260

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon/Washington Recreation and Visitor Services opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L21AS00260; CFDA 15.225) is a discretionary grant offered as a cooperative agreement to support recreation and visitor service work on BLM-managed public lands in Oregon and Washington. As a natural resources funding opportunity, it is aimed at projects that help the public access, understand, and safely enjoy public lands, and that strengthen on-the-ground visitor services and recreation management. The award ceiling is $250,000 per award, and the original application closing date listed for this round was June 8, 2021 (with the opportunity created February 8, 2021). Because the award is structured as a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect substantial involvement from BLM in planning, coordination, or project execution rather than a hands-off grant relationship.

Eligibility is limited to public entities and nonprofit/education partners rather than individuals or businesses. Specifically, eligible applicants include state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which is an important screening point for applicants deciding whether they can apply directly or need to partner with an eligible entity.

A key restriction in this NOFO is that it does not support entities hiring interns or crews under this program. The notice explains that, from BLM's perspective, the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the only authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns, meaning internship and youth crew-style projects need to be pursued through a different, specifically authorized funding channel. As a result, even eligible Youth Conservation Corps groups are directed to apply for youth/intern or crew-based projects under NOFO 15.243, titled "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands," rather than through this recreation and visitor services opportunity. In practical terms, applicants should shape proposals around deliverables that improve recreation and visitor services without relying on internship hiring or conservation crews funded through this award.

Overall, this opportunity is best suited for eligible governments, tribes, schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations proposing collaborative recreation and visitor service projects with BLM in Oregon and Washington, with clear public-benefit outcomes, budgets up to $250,000, and project designs that align with BLM involvement under a cooperative agreement while avoiding intern/crew hiring that would need to be funded under separate authority.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington Recreation and Visitor Services" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.225.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-02-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for L21AS00260

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